Jeremy Corbyn addresses TUC

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By Tim Lezard

10th September 2019 - 11:04 am

Jeremy Corbyn addresses TUC

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn today warned that Boris Johnson “and his wealthy friends” will not bear the cost of a No Deal Brexit that would “destroy jobs, push up food prices in the shops and cause shortages of everyday medicines that people rely on”.

Speaking at the TUC in Brighton, he also accused Boris Johnson and his cabinet of “hijacking” the referendum result and using No Deal as cover to “shift even more power and wealth to those at the top” and sell off our public services.

He said Labour is ready to launch the “biggest people-powered campaign” ever seen in the coming general election, after a No Deal Brexit has been stopped.

The Labour Leader said that he will not allow Boris Johnson to dictate the terms of the forthcoming election, warning that “no one can trust the word of a Prime Minister who is threatening to break the law to force through No Deal”.

Jeremy Corbyn will also warn that a No Deal Brexit will “put us at the mercy of Donald Trump and US corporations itching to get their teeth further into our NHS, sound the death knell for our steel industry, and permanently drive down rights and protections for workers.”

On the cost of a No Deal Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn said:

“Johnson’s reckless No Deal would destroy jobs, push up food prices in the shops and cause shortages of everyday medicines that people rely on.

“And who bears the cost of that? It wouldn’t be Johnson and his wealthy friends. It’s not their livelihoods on the line. It would be the rest of us.

“Just as it wasn’t the bankers Boris Johnson still defends who paid the price for the financial crash of 2008, it was tens of millions of people who had nothing to do with it.”

On the Conservatives using No Deal as cover to push through policies that benefit them and hurt everyone else, Jeremy Corbyn said:

“For the Tories this is about so much more than leaving the European Union. It’s about hijacking the referendum result to shift even more power and wealth to those at the top.

“They will use a No Deal crash to push through policies that benefit them and their super-rich supporters and hurt everyone else – just as they did after the financial crash.

“Under the cover of No Deal they will sell off our public services, strip away the regulations that keep us safe, and undermine workers’ rights.”

On a Trump Deal Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn said:

“Be in no doubt, a No Deal Brexit is really a Trump Deal Brexit, leading to a one-sided US trade deal negotiated from a position of weakness.

“It will put us at the mercy of Trump and the big US corporations itching to get their teeth further into our NHS, sound the death knell for our steel industry, and permanently drive down rights and protections for workers.

“I am not prepared to stand by and let that happen.”

On a General Election after the threat of No Deal has been removed, Jeremy Corbyn said:

“Our priority is, first, to stop No Deal, and then to trigger a general election.

“Amber Rudd’s resignation confirmed that the government is not serious about trying to get a deal in Brussels. As the prime minister’s top adviser reportedly said, the negotiations are “a sham.”

“No one can trust the word of a prime minister who is threatening to break the law to force through No Deal.

“So a general election is coming. But we won’t allow Johnson to dictate the terms.

“And I can tell you this: we’re ready for that election. We’re ready to unleash the biggest people-powered campaign we’ve ever seen.”